Chapter 23

After the children left, Li Sipei finally had the chance to take a proper look at the apartment.

The place wasn’t big—just a two-bedroom unit. Since Mi Zhao had likely planned to sublet it for a while, the living room and second bedroom were already tidied up. It was evident that Mi Zhao was a diligent person.

Of course, Li Sipei had always known that Mi Zhao was diligent—because his diligence wasn’t just reflected in cleaning…

At that thought, Li Sipei suddenly realized his mind was wandering in the wrong direction. His fingers twitched slightly on the armrest, and he discreetly pressed his lips together.

He lifted his gaze toward Mi Zhao.

Mi Zhao had just come out of the kitchen, bending over to place a cup of hot water on the table.

Catching Li Sipei’s gaze unexpectedly, Mi Zhao smiled. The warm sunlight streamed in through the glass, almost wrapping around him. His long, curled eyelashes were illuminated, distinct and delicate, and his dark eyes seemed to ripple like water.

They locked eyes for a moment.

Suddenly, Li Sipei understood why Mi Zhao had such an inherently likable face. A large part of it was due to those expressive eyes.

The expressive eyes blinked. “What’s wrong?”

Li Sipei’s throat tightened. He averted his gaze. “Nothing.”

“There’s only freshly boiled water at home. Hope you don’t mind.” After saying that, Mi Zhao noticed Li Sipei’s wandering gaze and asked, “Wanna check out the bedroom?”

Li Sipei remained silent.

Mi Zhao raised an eyebrow slightly. “No worries if you don’t want to. We can just stay in the living room.”

“I’ll look,” Li Sipei said stiffly. “You already mentioned it.”

Suppressing the corners of his lips from curling up, Mi Zhao tilted his head playfully and said in a considerate tone, “If you don’t want to, you don’t have to force yourself. The bedroom isn’t cleaned up anyway—it’s quite messy.”

At last, Li Sipei turned to look at him. “I never said I didn’t want to.”

Mi Zhao rested his chin on his hand, puzzled. “Then why didn’t you say anything just now…?”

“I was just hesitating.”

Hearing Li Sipei’s voice grow increasingly tense, Mi Zhao quickly dropped the subject, afraid of accidentally provoking him again. But inside, he was absolutely delighted.

Hmph.

A classic case of “stubborn mouth, honest body.”

—

The bedroom was indeed a mess. Papers and miscellaneous items were scattered all over the desk, dried clothes were draped haphazardly over the chair, and the blanket was bundled up at the foot of the bed.

The girl who came to view the apartment had arrived too early, leaving Mi Zhao no time to tidy up. Fortunately, he wasn’t the type to get embarrassed easily—he had stayed composed while showing the place to her, so showing it to Li Sipei was no big deal.

“You can look around first while I change the bedsheets.” With that, Mi Zhao got to work.

Li Sipei maneuvered his wheelchair to the bedside and picked up a picture frame from the nightstand.

Inside was an old photograph, clearly from years ago. In the picture, a young couple sat on a lawn, holding a little boy between them, who was grinning so widely his eyes nearly disappeared.

Li Sipei stared intently at the boy’s face.

Fair, pretty, and naturally charming.

When he smiled, there were two faint dimples at the corners of his mouth.

There was no denying it—Mi Zhao looked almost identical to his childhood self, just a scaled-up version.

As he was studying the photo, a head suddenly leaned in close, and warm breath tickled his wrist holding the frame.

His hand visibly trembled.

Then came Mi Zhao’s surprised voice. “You’re wearing the watch I gave you!”

Li Sipei’s chest rose and fell slowly. His expression remained unchanged as he responded coolly, “Mm.”

Standing upright again, Mi Zhao’s gaze swept over the redness creeping up the back of Li Sipei’s ears. He smiled slyly. “Looks like I picked the right gift.”

—

There were no groceries at home, so as lunchtime approached, Mi Zhao took Li Sipei to a nearby supermarket.

As always, Mi Zhao was the one who cooked. After they finished eating, he cleared the dishes and headed into the kitchen.

There was no dishwasher—he had to wash everything by hand.

As usual, Li Sipei sat at the kitchen entrance, watching him.

Having done household chores since childhood, washing dishes was second nature to Mi Zhao. He wore an apron, the sleeves of his sweatshirt rolled up to his elbows. While shaking excess water off a plate, he glanced at Li Sipei and asked, “Any plans for the afternoon?”

Li Sipei thought for a moment. “No.”

“Really?” Mi Zhao narrowed his eyes suspiciously, put the plate away, and turned back to face him. “Aren’t you supposed to do your rehab exercises?”

“…” Caught lying, a faint blush crept up Li Sipei’s face. “How did you know?”

Mi Zhao chuckled. “You think I’ve never seen how rehab works? It’s a scheduled, ongoing process—it’s not something you just finish once and be done with.”

Li Sipei pressed his lips together.

Noticing his resistance, Mi Zhao quickly finished washing the dishes, removed his apron, and dried his hands.

“What time’s your rehab session?”

“Three o’clock?” Li Sipei sounded unsure.

Mi Zhao checked the clock—it was just past one. He patted Li Sipei’s shoulder. “I’ll call Sister Ruan at two to have her come pick us up.”

“You’re coming too?” Li Sipei asked.

“Of course.” Sitting on the couch, Mi Zhao looked outside at the bright sunshine, feeling particularly cheerful. He turned back to smile at Li Sipei. “I have to keep you company.”

After a two-second pause, Li Sipei let out a soft “Mm.”

—

A little before two, Mi Zhao called Ruan Xin. After hanging up, he casually searched for her phone number on WeChat and sent a friend request.

At the same time, outside the apartment complex, Ruan Xin stared at her phone in shock.

Li Zhixuan waved a hand in front of her face. “What did that kid say?”

Ruan Xin, still dazed, replied, “He told us to come pick up Third Master for rehab.”

“What?!” Li Zhixuan almost thought he misheard, and in his surprise, he accidentally bit his tongue. “Didn’t Third Master say he was skipping it today?”

Ruan Xin scratched her head. “Unless my ears are failing me…”

“Let’s just go see for ourselves.”

Ruan Xin’s team had come with three people in total. Li Zhixuan had taken a taxi separately, and they had all skipped lunch, spending hours waiting in the car.

She told the other two to wait while she and Li Zhixuan entered the complex.

Unlike Ruan Xin, who had been working for Li Sipei since graduating, Li Zhixuan came from a well-off family. Though his family wasn’t as powerful as the Li household, they were still a prominent name in A City’s elite circles. Raised in a privileged environment, he had studied abroad since high school and returned only after completing his master’s degree.

After bouncing between several jobs in China, he eventually pulled some strings to work for Old Madam Li. Over the years, she had taken an interest in cultivating him, but the trade-off was that he had to keep an eye on Li Sipei.

That was why, despite often getting the cold shoulder, he still made frequent visits.

Having spent years around top-tier elites and extravagant lifestyles, stepping into this old residential complex felt almost like traveling back in time.

The crowded apartment building, the noisy children, the hallway littered with uncleaned garbage…

And—

Li Zhixuan sniffed the air and asked Ruan Xin, “Do you smell something bad?”

Coming from a grassroots background, Ruan Xin was much calmer. She pointed to a pile of overflowing trash bins not far away. “You mean the smell of garbage?”

Li Zhixuan turned his head and fell silent. His well-mannered face showed a few cracks.

After a long pause, he asked blankly, “Are you sure Third Master is here?”

“Of course.” Ruan Xin said, “I saw them come in with my own eyes, and Mi Zhao even gave me the building and unit number.”

Li Zhixuan opened his mouth but hesitated to speak.

His expression was extremely complicated.

This was the first time he realized that even Third Master Li could live in such down-to-earth conditions. Meanwhile, he himself, dressed in an expensive and formal suit, was completely out of place here.

The door was opened by Mi Zhao. He had Ruan Xin and Li Zhixuan wait outside for a moment before he grabbed his backpack and pushed Li Sipei’s wheelchair out.

Li Zhixuan had sharp eyes. He caught sight of the watch on Li Sipei’s wrist and was momentarily stunned.

The watch wasn’t particularly cheap, but for Third Master Li, it was far too modest. Forget Third Master Li—even if he wore it, he’d probably be laughed at.

Wasn’t Third Master Li someone who disliked wearing such accessories?

Li Zhixuan was full of doubts but didn’t dare ask too much. He silently followed behind Mi Zhao.

On their way out, they ran into the group of children again. Li Zhixuan wasn’t fond of kids and knew that Li Sipei didn’t like them either, so he wanted to warn Mi Zhao to be careful and keep them from bumping into Third Master Li.

But before he could say anything, the kids had already spotted them and came running over like a bunch of little cannonballs.

They hesitated for a moment, and then a little girl took the lead and called out, “Hello, Uncle.”

Hearing this, the other children quickly followed suit, calling out in a chorus of “Uncle.”

Mi Zhao frowned and corrected them with a serious face, “Call him Brother.”

The children looked a little aggrieved but obediently changed their greeting to “Hello, Brother.”

“Good kids.” Mi Zhao smiled with squinted eyes, bent down, and picked up a bag of candy from Li Sipei’s wheelchair. He distributed the candies among the kids and made sure they threw away the wrappers properly.

As the children ran off, Li Zhixuan suddenly realized—

Did Mi Zhao just put the candy on Third Master Li’s lap?

Li Zhixuan: “…”

He looked up at the sky, feeling like he was starting to lose his grasp on who Third Master Li really was.

By the time Li Sipei finished his rehabilitation training, it was already five in the afternoon. Mi Zhao had no plans to stay the night. He turned down Li Zhixuan’s offer to drive him back to school and took a taxi on his own.

Yan Qinting had been lying in bed all day, waiting for Mi Zhao to bring him food.

While Yan Qinting ate, Mi Zhao leaned against the desk and sent Li Sipei a WeChat message to let him know he got back safely.

Li Sipei replied instantly.

[Xiao Li: Are you coming tomorrow?]

[mrz: Are you doing rehabilitation training tomorrow?]

The typing indicator appeared and disappeared several times.

Finally—

[Xiao Li: Yes.]

[mrz: Then I’ll come find you in the afternoon.]

Turning off his phone, Mi Zhao pulled out his pajamas, preparing to take a shower. As he walked, he thought about how long Li Sipei hesitated before sending that one-word reply and couldn’t help but chuckle.

That afternoon, Ruan Xin had pulled him aside for a private conversation. She said Li Sipei was very resistant to rehabilitation training and asked if Mi Zhao could help persuade him.

But persuasion wouldn’t work. He had to coax him.

Mi Zhao touched his nose and thought, It’s really just like coaxing a child. Good thing I have plenty of experience.

A foot suddenly kicked at him. Yan Qinting, still chewing his food, mumbled loudly, “What are you laughing at? It’s just a shower—what’s so funny?”

Mi Zhao nimbly dodged the kick, suppressed his smile, and shot a glance over. “I can laugh if I want to. What’s it to you? Just eat your food.”

Yan Qinting shook his head and muttered, “Have you noticed you’ve been acting like an idiot lately? Laughing at random times—during class, before bed, even before taking a shower.”

Mi Zhao stopped walking, tossed his pajamas onto the table, and pounced on Yan Qinting with a fierce look. “Not even food can shut you up, huh? Since you love talking so much, maybe I should just sew your mouth shut!”

Yan Qinting threw down his chopsticks and bolted. “Yamete~ Yamete~ Brother, have mercy~”

Mi Zhao nearly gagged in disgust.

As Yan Qinting barely dodged the playful punches, he peeked out from behind his arms and pleaded, “Wait, wait, wait! Bro, I just wanted to ask you something.”

Mi Zhao slicked back his bangs and gave him a chin tilt. “Speak.”

Damn!

For a second, Yan Qinting felt like his heart took a direct hit.

No wonder Mi Zhao was more popular with guys at school. Even he almost couldn’t resist for a moment. But Mi Zhao had no idea—he just thought he had very few admirers and no one really liked him.

Back when they were freshmen, Li Yan had set his sights on Mi Zhao. A lot of guys had a crush on Mi Zhao at the time, so feeling the pressure, Li Yan not only got close to Mi Zhao but also secretly got rid of his potential rivals.

Later, when they started dating, Li Yan, under the guise of “good friend” advice, cut off all of Mi Zhao’s potential romances.

Yan Qinting had vaguely heard about these things before but never found a good time to bring them up. Now, he didn’t even know how to start the conversation.

Thinking about Li Yan, Yan Qinting’s expression darkened. He asked seriously, “Isn’t Li Yan’s birthday coming up? What are you going to do with that watch you bought?”